Run, Don’t Hide

January 11, 2017

New Year, new regime. It’s time to face your fitness fears head on and hit the ground running with your health goals for 2017. Follow our guide to start running below, featuring some amazing tips for running beginners and newbies.

1. Set realistic expectations

Like the old fable of the tortoise and the hare, when it comes to starting out with running, slow and steady wins the race. Don’t expect to be smashing 5km runs in your first week, don’t be discouraged if you’re still struggling to run a solid mile after 6 weeks. There are no hard and fast rules, and you should listen to your body and go at your own pace.

2. Learn to walk before you run

If you’re not used to doing any form of exercise start off building your fitness with walking, walking is still an excellent form of cardiovascular exercise with great health benefits. Check out our guide on walking for fitness to get you started.

3. Invest in proper running shoes

Before you start pounding the pavements, make sure you have suitable trainers for your work out. They should fit, support you, and be suitable for running.

4. Pace yourself

As with point number 1, don’t try and run at full speed on your first try and don’t try and run a full 5k. Start off at a steady pace, you shouldn’t be so overexerted that you couldn’t hold a conversation. Your pace should be comfortable, try running for a minute and walking for two minutes, to gradually build your stamina.

5. Make sure you warm up and cool down properly

Warm up before you start running with a brisk walk for around 5 minutes. At the end of your run walk at a more casual pace for another 5 minutes to allow your body to cool down. Don’t forget to stretch afterwards too.

6. Schedule your running days

If you put your run into your diary you’re more likely to stick to the appointment, so commit your run to ink and paper. Why not involve others? Find a running buddy so you can encourage each other (and practise that running at a conversational pace mentioned above!) – aim to run 2-3 days a week, and ensure you schedule in rest days to allow your body to recover too.

7. Get tech-savvy

There are 100s of apps on the market that can coach your runs and track your stats – get downloading to help you on your get fit mission. Couch25k is one of the best apps for getting you started. On ‘Map my Run’ you can get detailed statistics of your runs so you can start following your improvements, you can also connect with friends which can give you extra motivation.

Is starting running on the agenda for you this year? Download and print off our fitness planner, fill it out, stick it up and getting fit in 2017!

You may also like

1 comment

Jackie BuchanFebruary 12, 2017 - 3:45 pm

My tip is do not under estimate the power of walking -I felt intimidated by people who talked about runnng marathons and 10ks but I knew my limitations and have simply increased my steps daily. This has proved to me I can do exercise, I enjoy it and it is easy to keep it up, it doesn’t cost anything and I am out in the fresh air #countingstepsworks !